Atop Preseason Poll

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will begin the 2018 season as the nation's No. 1 team. The Cardinal collected 99 points to top the Preseason Women's Varsity National Top 25 for the fourth consecutive year.
 
UCLA and USC are tied for second with 93 points, Cal is fourth with 91 points and Arizona State fifth with 82 points. Hawaii (76 points), UC Irvine (75 points), Michigan (74 points), Pacific (73 points) and Long Beach State (62 points) round out the top 10.
 
Winners of five of the last seven national championships, Stanford will again be in strong position to repeat in 2018. Despite losing three of its top four scorers, the Cardinal returns a pair of 2017 All-Americans in Makenzie Fischer and Jordan Raney along with 20-goal scorers Kat Klass, Madison Berggren and Katie Dudley.
 
Raney received her first senior women's national team action this summer and won gold at the FINA World Championships with current teammates Makenzie Fischer and Fischer's younger sister Aria. Aria Fischer, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist along with her sister and the youngest U.S. woman to win gold on a team sport in the Summer Olympic Games, is one of six celebrated freshmen on Stanford's roster.
 
Among six departed seniors, Stanford must replace a quartet of All-Americans in Maggie Steffens, Jamie Neushul, Dani Jackovich and Gabby Stone. Julia Hermann, a 2016 All-American while Stone was away training with the U.S. women's national team, will resume her place in the cage for the Cardinal.
 
Stanford opens its season at the LouStrong Memorial hosted by San Jose State on Jan. 20 with a game against No. 11 UC Davis (9:20 a.m.) followed by an exhibition with China (12:30 p.m.).

2018 Preseason Women's Varsity National Top 25